London to Australia

Overview

Join Odyssey Overland for the adventure of a lifetime as we drive overland from London to Australia. Our 6-month expedition in a custom-built overland truck takes you to 23 countries and gives you the opportunity to explore and experience parts of the world that others have never even heard of, let alone been to! From Europe, to the Silk Road and Central Asia, China and Tibet, South-East Asia and finally to Darwin, Australia, this trip offers so much. This is the ultimate holiday, career break or gap year adventure!

Departs London, UK on 15th April 2012 arriving Darwin, Australia on 9th October 2012

Our expedition departs from the UK and then visits France, Belgium, Germany, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Turkey, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, China, Tibet, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and Australia.

HIGHLIGHTS

It is hard to narrow down a list of highlights for our expedition, but here is our attempt! The Route Plan has more detail, a week-by-week itinerary and some amazing photos taken by expedition members to whet your appetite…

Cologne with its Dom Cathedral
Prague and the Czech Republic.
Stunning Budapest with its great buildings and hot baths.
Transylvania, land of gypsies and Dracula's castle.
Bucharest and its sad past but vibrant life today.
The green rolling hills of Bulgaria and some funky little villages en route
Historic Istanbul and the crazy landscapes of Goreme in Cappadocia. Our local guide in Goreme shows us it all.
Fantastic Georgia, friendly people, the home of wine, amazing mountains, great trekking with lots of Christian history. Explore Tbilisi the Georgian capital.
Take a dip in the Black Sea.
Visit the amazing town of Miestia high in the Caucasus Mountains where they only build the road in to it in 1935 and play spot the tourist between some great trekking and exploring the feud towers of the area.
Checkout the Stalin Museum in Gori his birthplace.
Azerbaijan where the oil oozes out of the soil as well as ancient Silk Road caravanserais and the funky city of Baku. Visit the Maiden’s Tower and the Shirvan Shakh Palace.
Cross the Caspian Sea.
Turkmenistan – totally wacky. Visit to the Darvaza Gas Crater and explore the surreal Ashgabat. We visit the Sunday market, one of the best in Central Asia.
Cross the Karakum Desert.
Explore the ancient Silk Road cities of Khiva, Samarkand and Bukhara.
Stay with local families in Yurts, local homes and camp out as we get to know the local people and their customs.
Visit a silk works in the Fergana Valley.
Host a village party.
Eat amazing food; we will live the countries through their food and drink. From a shashlyk (meat roasted on skewers over hot coals) in Uzbekistan to one of the many fiery Sichuan dishes in this amazing province of China.
Visit the stunning lakes of Song Kol and Issyk-kul in Kyrgyzstan.
Through the Tain Shan Mountains and over the Torugart pass into China. Closed to most overland travellers, we get special permission to enter.
Visit the town of Kashgar with its amazing Silk Road history as well as its place in the Great Game played between Britain and the Russia.
Visit the impressive Magao Caves in Dunhuang with their gigantic sitting Buddhas.
Visit a section of the Great Wall from the Han Dynasty.
Visit Turpan the second lowest point on earth at 152m below sea level.
The magical and holy Lhasa with the Potala Palace, once the home of the Dalai Lama. Visit the Jokhang Temple and Norbulingka Palace.
Tibet and Everest Base Camp and the high roads through the Himalayas
High altitude mountain lakes, horse riding and trekking.
Buddhist sites and jaw-dropping palaces.
Yangtze River, walk in the Tiger Leaping Gorge
Drive one of the highest and remotes roads in the world, visit Yam Dok Lake, Yongbalakang Palace and Mount Meili.
Explore the towns of Shangrila, Lijiang and Dali and visit the Stone Forest in Kunming.
Luang Prabang, Angkor Wat and Siem Reap in Laos and Cambodia.
Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) and the Mekong Delta.
Bangkok where our local guide offers us a unique perspective.
Top diving and unspoilt beaches, you can visit the islands of Ko Sumai, Ko Tao and Pulau Perhentian Kercil.
Explore the jungle in the Taman Negara National Park with the chance of seeing tiger and elephant.
The cosmopolitan cities of Singapore and Kuala Lumpur.
Darwin, a stone's throw away from the outback, and the gateway to Australia…

This is only just scratching the surface of all the amazing things we will see and experience as we travel along this incredible route.

TRANSPORT

A custom-built Mercedes Benz or MAN overland truck, designed especially for this expedition will be our home whilst on the road. It will do all the land legs possible with other forms of transport taking us to those more inaccessible areas required to get us to see as much as possible while en route. It might be camels in the deserts (we will cross two major ones), a local rickshaw or an old jeep to get us up some small mountain track, or down the back streets of some ancient Silk Road city. Even an old Russian ferry to cross the Caspian Sea! It's all an adventure and as an expedition member you can do it all and be involved in every stage. The more you are involved, the more you will enjoy it!

FOOD & ACCOMMODATION

We camp about 50% of the time during our expedition to Australia, with the remaining time spent in small local-run hotels or guesthouses. Don’t worry if you haven’t camped a lot in the past, we do it in style with large, easy-to-erect tents, comfy camp chairs, and amazing food cooked over an open fire or the gas cooker using fresh ingredients from the markets we visit along the way. Most of our ex-expedition members rate camping as a highlight of the trip as it really allows us to get off the beaten track, away from the crowds (other than curious locals!), and to experience some breathtaking scenery – from snow capped peaks to mud volcanoes, beautiful mountain streams to desert lakes – and everything in between!

COSTS

The cost is split into components, the Trip Price and Kitty.

Trip price £4,180 + Kitty £1,970 = Total £6,150

Trip price includes:

All land transport by expedition vehicle
All vehicle costs including fuel, tolls, ferries, seaport taxes
All the vehicle entrances
Services of the crew
Back-up, logistical and support from our UK office.

The Trip Price of £4,180 is paid to Odyssey Overland in full no less than 8 weeks before departure. This allows us to arrange all the required permits and other vital things for this expedition.

The Kitty of £1,970 is the second part of the price and is paid into a central fund on the day of departure. It funds accommodation, camp meals, local guides and activities that the group take part in as a whole. The expedition members and the group leader monitor this. This has been calculated as accurately as possible, but will be updated 2 weeks before the trip is due to depart, and while no increase is expected, due to the long lead time before departure it is impossible to be 100% sure. Local inflation and costs vary during the year and so we review the kitty before departure and during the trip. In the unlikely event of an increase this is expected to be by less than £100.

WHAT'S INCLUDED?

Service of an experienced crew to lead the expedition. All are experienced leaders, drivers and mechanics and can cook up a storm with the local food!
Use of the expedition vehicle and all its equipment, designed specifically for this style of expedition.
All costs relating to the truck including diesel, mechanics, shipping.
Ferry tickets for ferries on our planned route.
All accommodation and meals while camping.
Local guides for Georgia, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, China and Tibet (they add a great dimension). As well as specialist guides in Goreme, Khiva, Bukhara and Bangkok.
Entrance to national parks and sights highlighted in the section above.

WHAT'S NOT INCLUDED?

Personal travel insurance.
Personal spending money.
Visas (about £500 but depends on nationality).
Border taxes.
Optional activities.
Entrance to sites and parks not included.
Tips for local guides.
Meals when in hotels/guesthouses.
Drinks.
Any unforeseen contingency route expenses.
Roll matt and sleeping bag.
Any flights.

Remember that we run small groups (up to 22), with a focus on really exploring all the amazing places we will pass through on this epic 6-month journey. Our itinerary allows enough time to see all the incredible sights along the way, as well as time to chill out and relax. We have been there and done it and have the knowledge and skills to make this the trip of your lifetime, and we are there to give you as much or as little help as you want along the way. This is a traveller’s journey, no packaged holiday!

So take the plunge, do your research and book onto the expedition of a lifetime. Due to the nature of these expeditions, they do book up a long way in advance, so if you are considering it, don’t delay, and get in touch with us.

Click here to get details of how to book, and let the adventures begin!

Odyssey Overland - Adventure holidays, expeditions, exploration, overland treks